Flames of Dawn
by Rediamond
Summary: Kanto stands locked in civil war. A race begins to unite the scattered experiments of a discontinued project. One trainer is thrust out in a journey unlike anything he ever expected. Based off of a FireRed Nuzlocke. Rated T for violence.
1. Operation Dawn

Footsteps had echoed across the office almost constantly for the last few days, only ceasing when their creator had to sleep. The past week had been one of the most stressful Samuel Oak could remember, and that was saying quite a lot. Everything had been going so perfectly, and then things collapsed. Oak paused for one of the very few breaks he took from his ceaseless pacing, and gazed out over his laboratory, which was still buzzing with activity even at midnight.

Oak sighed, fully realizing the operation here. One-hundred scientists and the commander-in-chief of the nation were all focused on the same problem. It had been three years since the facilities for Operation Dawn had been completed on Cinnabar Island, three years since the burning ambition of Oak's life had begun to be fulfilled. For the first year or so, he had virtually run the country in this laboratory, never bothering to actually go to his official capitol. The Cinnabar Lab was the most advanced genetic laboratory in the world, and it had to be: its goal was nothing less than to create life.

The project had begun somewhat modestly, creating exact clones of simple insects and plants. While this was a major scientific breakthrough of the day, it wasn't nearly enough for the man behind the project. The lab team moved on to cloning Pokémon, an almost inconceivable leap for the scientific community, but still not enough to call the project a success. Something even greater loomed ahead: the champion ordered the cloning of a human.

The project had always been incredibly classified, but after the human cloning phase began, the island was virtually put on lockdown. Aside from the top executives, no one was allowed to leave Cinnabar Island. It was around this time that Oak had been forced to move back to the Indigo Plateau, as the country was beginning to deteriorate without a central leader. Even without the project mastermind, Operation Dawn continued with great success. A genetic donor was selected, and the cloning went on in the same fashion as the last few; an artificially fertilized egg inserted into a host mother, followed by a long period of waiting. However, Oak was not a patient man. As soon as it was confirmed that the human embryo was developing properly, Oak unveiled his ultimate intentions.

Oak continued to pace, his spotless white shoes constantly bumping into the cold cement floor at regular intervals. He thought back to why he had ordered the final two projects at Cinnabar, as he did almost every night he couldn't sleep. He almost always came to the same conclusion: he had found something he couldn't understand. Mystery was something intolerable to Samuel Oak, and he would never let one go unsolved, going to any extent he needed to in order to discover the truth. And what bigger mystery faced humanity than the legendary Pokémon?

But, he knew in his heart it wasn't that. The mystery existing wouldn't have been enough to drive Oak to such great lengths to solve it. It was spite that drove his on- spite that someone refused to tell him the truth, even when it had almost destroyed an entire continent. He shook his head, trying to clear the memory. He had been fifteen at the time, so it had been a full thirty-five years since he had forgiven those involved in the incident. He shook his head, the hints of a weary smile coming to his face. He was getting old.

Regardless of the cause, Oak was obsessed with the secrets of legendary Pokémon, and he had finally come up with the plan and resources needed to delve deeper into the mysteries surrounding them. He subconsciously palmed a locket partially hidden by his lab coat. He glanced up at the time, and abruptly ended his reminiscing. It was time to deal with the matter at hand. Three projects were currently developing on Cinnabar Island. The first was the human clone, its mother entering the final month of pregnancy. The second was his most controversial project, but the one that came closest to realizing Oak's dream.

Oak knew that the legendary Pokémon wouldn't communicate with a mere human, and would be almost impossible to test. Therefore, he had decided to create a legend, one that would communicate freely. There had been grumblings among the scientists about how unnatural the entire things was, but eventually gene-splicing began, and soon a hybrid was created, a fusion of the DNA of humanity and Mew. The genes were formed, and the search for a host mother began. Drawing lots had eventually solved the problem, but it had by no means made Oak more popular at the lab.

In fact, Oak suspected that this was the cause of the problems with project three. Although a hybrid Mew was perfectly fine, it couldn't be experimented on. While it would be half-Mew, it just wouldn't be enough. Therefore, Oak had asked for what seemed like a much simpler demand: an exact clone of Mew. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. Someone had sabotaged the project, probably out of fear of invoking the rage of a legendary Pokémon if the project should continue. Of course, it could have just been retaliation for imposing the Mew hybrid on someone against their will.

Either way, something went wrong. Four days ago, someone had noticed that the clone was developing in a very irregular way, a certain sign of temperament. However, something else was bothering Oak even more. The embryo was still viable, and still developing. Whoever had tried to sabotage the project hadn't been trying to kill the creature outright. Instead, they had been trying to modify it. Why someone would want to do so was a mystery to Oak, and it was a mystery he had every intent to solve.

The Champion's thoughts were cut off by a ringing at his desk. He sighed, and picked up his phone. "Hello, who is this?"

The quiet voice of his secretary answered, shaking with what seemed to be fear. "There is a messenger from the Plateau here to see you. Should I send them in?"

Oak frowned unable to understand why the League would be sending him a message this way, since he could always be reached by phone. "Send him in."

The secretary hung up, and the mechanical door to the director's office slid open, revealing a young red-haired man, about thirty years old. Oak sighed, and slid gestured the youngest member of the Elite Four to a chair. Lance was the kind of person who always insisted on face-to-face meetings. Lance sat down in the chair, almost reaching Oak's height, even while sitting. Oak paced the length of the room and turned around, "So, what did you want to see me for?"

"Why, I came to speak to you about this project of course."

Oak whirled around, staring into Lance's sky blue eyes. How did he know anything but the vague details about the official goals of the project? Even while his mind raced, his voice lost no composure, "Yes, what about it?"

Lance smirked, "You do realize how much wasted potential this project has, correct?"

Oak sat down, worried by where the conversation might go, "No, I am not aware of any potential being wasted here, and I do not believe you know what you are saying. Please inform me, exactly what is there that I should be doing."

Lance gave a short chuckle, "Why, think of what you could do here. You could create the ultimate weapon, a Pokémon with legendary strength that answers only to you. The ultimate battle machine-"

"You know as well as I do that what you are describing is an impossibility. It is completely out of the question for man to mess with the genetics of a legendary-"

A dark look flashed across Lance's face, and Oak immediately stopped. "You're lying to me."

The words echoed across the silent room, neither side backing down. Oak eventually cleared his throat to end the confrontation. "Yes, I'll think about it. Now, would you please leave? I have other matters to attend to."

Lance got up, a murderous look on his face. "You don't understand what's going on here, do you," he shouted.

Oak sighed, and gestured back to the expanse of the lab, visible through a window behind him. "Fine, what do you think all of this is?"

Lance smiled murderously, and pulled a pistol out from his robes. As he held the barrel towards Oak's forehead, he calmly gave his reply, "I don't know what that is, but this would be a coup."


	2. Examination

Chapter One: Examination

Here it was: the last battle. Nidorino stood before me, ready to take on the Gengar I was about to face. This was my first truly public battle, and there was too much to lose by screwing up here. My reputation was on the line. The opponent wouldn't reply until I did, I was fully aware of that, but stronger trainers acted faster. "Dig!"

I could imagine the surprise rippling through the onlookers. I knew what I was doing, and everyone knew it. It was quite an oddity that I was ordering an attack with no effect. Thankfully, the opponent was quite surprised too, or as surprised as it could get. It did absolutely nothing, too indecisive to make a move. That was the problem with powerful opponents. They tended to be unable to recognize the brilliance of "rookie mistakes."

Nidorino erupted from the ground, and went straight through Gengar, failing to affect it in the slightest. As the opponent opened his mouth to begin the battle, Nidorino started to fall back through Gengar, who remained intangible. Everything was going according to plan. "Beat up!"

Nidorino began to thrash violently, tearing apart Gengar from the inside, as it could not handle an elementally charged attack. As the spirit crashed into the ground, one final jet of water ended the match. I had passed the test. I gave a nice face for the cameras as the world dissolved around me.

When the lights finally cleared and I returned to reality, I took off the glasses I had been wearing. They weren't noticed inside of the virtual reality system, but they were quite a burden in the real world. I shook my head, holding my hand on my signature red cap as I did so. That always helped me get back to reality.

As I walked down the hall, I was met by a stream of aides and teachers, each holding out their hands and giving me some generic congratulatory response to my passing of the trainer's exams. Whenever I heard the "Congratulations Kyle", I turned around, shook a hand, and moved on. Rinse and repeat.

I found a way to slip through the back passages of the trainer's school, not actually arriving onto the ceremonial stage, but instead slipping into the back. I scanned the crowd, and strode over towards Gary.

When I sat down, he looked up in surprise. "Sorry, didn't see you coming. Nice job in their anyways, you did surprisingly well for a rookie."

I shot him a smug look back, "Oh, and I'm sure that you did much better. What was your match-up anyways, Machamp vs. Clefairy?"

He punched me on the shoulder, but laughed nonetheless, "Well, maybe it wasn't as hard as yours. I guess that we'll both be getting our license tomorrow."

I sat back, "Yeah, won't that be something." Everything was happening so quickly at once. Tomorrow was my fifteenth birthday, as well as the day I would receive my first Pokémon. The two weren't connected by necessity; in fact, most trainers in Pallet didn't get their license until long after they turned sixteen. Gary and I were the exceptions.

Second, the Ariel Day festival was less than a week away. Ariel Day was the largest of the holidays in Kanto, occurring on the Summer Equinox. It was a day of power, symbolic of the Forest King's defeat. More than two hundred years ago, a legendary hero had defeated the Forest King and its three underlings in battle and secured a single government over Kanto. The king's followers, Pokémon, had been subjected to human dominance, which had eventually led to trainers dominating, and eventually capturing, reviving, and creating Pokémon.

Of course, bonds between Pokémon and humans had recovered since the ancient war; but the order of things had been changed. Now Pokémon were viewed as inferior to humans, where as it had previously been equal. Of course, there were those who disagreed with this state of things. Samuel Oak was the head of this movement, but he never really enforced his views. He was a sort of father figure to me, as well as leader of Pallet Town. His views had gradually worn off on me, but not forced.

Of course, after practically living at Oak's lab for ten years, it was only natural I agreed with most of the Professor's views. My mother worked at the lab, so I had an excuse to spend all of my time there. My two best friends also worked or lived at the lab, so it was all right.

Gary Oak and I were best friends, and one of the most powerful duos at the trainer's school. We also were the most popular in most cases, which was natural as we were the most knowledgeable about Pokémon and battling. Gary was fine with the popularity; I really just let him take all of it. With the exception of about five people, I kept to myself. I was fine opening up, and wasn't particularly anti-social, but I would only do it in the right conditions. I had earned the nickname of Red Cloyster at the Lab, a combination based off of my red scar and my reclusiveness.

The scar ran from my heart across my left arm, all of the way to my hand. It was some sort of side-effect from a bizarre electrical accident at about the time of my birth. I never learned much about that time period, so I had learned not to ask. My mother, Erin Jones, had supposedly been a top scientist in her day, and had helped Oak found the trainer's school and laboratory within Pallet Town. My father was never mentioned, and it appeared that no one really knew much. My mother always avoided the subject.

I didn't expect that my presence would actually be unnoticed, and pretty soon I was listening to the MC call for Gary and I to stand up and be recognized for passing the second part of the exam. I watched the screen more than the crowd, as the enormous screen in the front of the school's outdoor stadium zoomed in on Gary and I. There was Gary, looking sharp and confident with his black uniform, with his brown hair spiked in his bizarre hairstyle as normal. And then there was me, just there. My black hair almost covered my eyes, so all you could really see was a blank expression under my red baseball cap, not looking unnerved, but certainly not enthused.

Afterwards, the Professor himself took the stage, and gave a very brief and formal speech about the graduating class, only a few older kids and Gary and I. It was a small town, everyone fit into the stands of the stadium, and there just weren't that many kids. Most of the town's inhabitants were older scientists anyways, the crew that had come with Oak to start the lab, and subsequently the town here.

No one really knew why they built the lab here, and not elsewhere. The only thing special about the town was its location on the South Coast, and even then there wasn't anything important about that. The only things you could reach from the South Ocean that couldn't be reached as quickly from the north were Fuchsia City, and the South Islands, which hadn't been visited in decades. It was claimed that the three storm lords slept there, and no one wanted to invoke their wrath.

Even then, the North Sea and Fuchsia were obviously superior in positioning, being more central in terms of scientific gold mines. The success of Bill's lab and the Safari Zone demonstrated this quite clearly. Red was once again awakened by Oak leaving the stage. He didn't really care what Oak said in public; they would listen to what he really wanted to say later, in private. This was met by a polite applause, which was silenced by the MC, the trainer school's principle taking the stage. He dismissed the crowd, and the audience immediately stood and made for the exits.

Gary got to his feet almost instantly, with his usual enthusiasm. He shouted something about the lab, drowned out by the thunder of the crowd's footsteps and ran off. I watched him go, and followed at my own pace.


	3. Filed Memories

I pushed my way through the masses, never letting Gary get too far out of sight. After barreling trough quite a bit of the bustle, brushing aside people who wanted to talk in as polite of a way as I could think of, I eventually arrived in the relative quiet outside of the Pallet Arena. Gary stood there waiting, and set off the moment I reached him.

"Why are you going to the lab?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. There wasn't much of a point in staying up in the stadium, and I wanted to do something. The lab is just normally the place I go to do that."

I nodded, completely understanding. Both of our families worked almost continuously every day, so we had looked for other outlets. We had both been attracted to the lab by our respective guardians who worked there, and had never abandoned it. We weren't trainers, so what we could do was limited, but just interacting with the Pokémon was often enough to escape from otherwise complete social isolation. It wasn't that we couldn't get human friends; just that the Pokémon tended to ask far fewer questions.

We walked in an awkward silence for a moment. "So Gary, what do you think your Pokémon will be?" It wasn't a very creative question, but I knew it would be effective.

Gary smiled, and I knew I wasn't the only one who had been obsessed with the question. "I really don't know, even if Grandpa runs the lab. He's been remarkably quiet, which I'm sure must be killing him." We both laughed. Oak was many things, but he was not a quiet man. "A few wouldn't surprise me. I like birds, so it could be one of those. That's not saying much of course."

Oak's lab held several hundred bird Pokémon in its care. To guess which it might be was trying to find the proverbial Weedle in the forest. I had even less of an idea than Gary; I didn't like any particular type over another, but hated electric types with a passion. They said it had to do with my scar, but I had never liked voltage of any degree, and that was the definition of an electric type.

Gary and I continued to theorize, right up until we reached the sleek metallic exterior of the main building. The wall facing the town was well polished stainless steel, with the image of the town appearing right over the lab's logo. The only break came with the entrance, an imposing glass door big enough for a Snorlax to amble through. Most new trainers were terrified of the door, and it was often said that the biggest hurdle of a Pallet trainer was getting up the nerve to open the door of one of the most imposing structures in Kanto.

Inside of the doorway, all sense of order fell apart. It was a quiet day today with most of the town watching the examination, but a few dozen aides were still rushing around the glass-roofed atrium, bustling on their various paths to keep the lab running. In the center of the atrium was a huge statue of a Fearow, forged out of copper with ruby eyes. It had some special meaning to Oak, but no one was sure of the details.

We stood there for a moment, each unsure of what to do not that we were actually at the lab. Eventually I managed to ask aloud the question that we were both thinking. "Now what?"

A voice rang out from behind us, as overly cheerful as ever. "Now your journeys may begin. If you would both step into my office, please." Professor Oak brushed past us, his ever present smile plastered on his face as he took out his keys and unlocked his office door, hurrying inside with Gary and I following.

His office was his life in an image. The roof and back wall were entirely glass, providing a view of the main plains facility where field Pokémon were stored. Several flocks of two headed flightless birds known as Doduo roamed accompanied by various other species on the horizon, such as the stone tanks of Pokémon known as Rhyhorn and bulls known as Tauros. The other three walls were lined with bookshelves, with a few small stands around the room with books placed on them, some of them still open with the rest containing bookmarks. His desk was small, and obviously made of oak. The only things on it were a laptop computer and a small lamp. The only other thing in the room was a small black file cabinet, its contents unknown to all.

Oak sat down at his desk, and motioned for us to pull up chairs from the stands. "Well, I must admit that your battles were impressive, and would be very good for even experienced trainers. To see that from students was truly impressive. As such, I believe that I can afford to bend the rules a little."

He noticed our confused expressions, and it looked like his smile had somehow gotten bigger. "I mean that I can give you your Pokémon one day early. I believe that it is only in order after your years of work here at the lab. Besides, Lance has bigger things to worry about than two trainers getting their first Pokémon a day early. But, if I do this I must ask a favor of you."

Gary and I glanced at each other, and answered in unison. "What?"

"Oh, it's nothing big. I just need you to pick something up from the Viridian Pokémart from me. I don't need a crowd of new trainers objecting to your 'special treatment,' so it might help to get you out of town. Besides, you might even be able to catch a Pokémon or two along the way."

Gary and I both hastily agreed, and Oak called one of his younger aides, Tracey, into the room. "Tracey, will you take Kyle over to Ivy, the new Pokémon from Celadon? I have to run over with Gary to his Pokémon myself, due to that annoying security glitch."

Tracey promptly agreed, and practically ran from the room with me. He maintained his pace right up until we exited the main building, and were walking along the trail through the plains area. "Sorry about that, I just didn't want to talk over the noise in the main building. Anyways, I'm sure your excited, but I can't answer any questions until we get to your Pokémon."

I sighed, knowing that it was hopeless to argue with the green-haired aide. Besides, it was hard enough to keep pace with him, as his legs and energy dwarfed mine, and I wasn't short or dull. We half-jogged through the plains, staying just slow enough to avoid a stampede from the Pokémon around us. Tracey hummed softly to himself, always glancing around, checking to see that nothing was paying us any attention.

He didn't speak again until he opened the door to the forest aviary, and practically shoved me inside. We were inside of the small mesh cage in the front of the dome, a last barrier to keep anything from escaping, and a nice place to talk without fear of bumping into any of the Pokémon. It wasn't much hotter inside than outside, but the humidity was enough to make it seem hotter than the hottest day ever seen in Pallet.

Tracey cleared his throat, "I trust you know the basic guidelines of the aviary. Stay on the path, more specifically the path I take. It's Beedrill mating season, and it's never a good thing to run into a hormone crazed insect with stingers the size of your head. Also, don't look up. Some of the birds enjoy the target your face provides. Of course, I'm sure you're very well aware of this, but I also know that your experience in the actual buildings is limited. Besides, it would really suck to have your first day as a trainer, your birthday, and Ariel Day ruined by a nasty sting from a mother Beedrill."

I rolled my eyes, fully aware of the truth of what he was saying, but too well versed in safety briefs to honestly care anymore. Tracey figured he had said all he could, and threw open the door out of the mesh cage, and into the rainforest. Tropical trees stretched away, blocking visibility beyond a few feet on either side, providing the feeling of being trapped in an endless maze. An eerie chorus of shrieks and buzzing prevailed over the world, with the sound of crashing water somewhere in the distance sounding out beneath it. Butterfree danced in the air above, spreading their delicate wings as they paraded elegantly above the canopy.

Tracey turned to the right, facing a small forest path that was virtually impossible to spot by an untrained eye, as it was little more than a slightly expanded game trail. Nothing heavier than an occasional Hypno walked in these forests, so game trails never got very big in the first place, and little effort was put into expanding the trail, as too many fearsome Pokémon lived within the domes confines to hope to do it "safely."

Tracey slipped into the tree line, leaving me to hurry after him, watching my step continuously. He hurried forwards, but had to go much slower now than he could outside. He heeded his own warnings, and he would never purposefully disturb a Pokémon. After pushing through a seemingly endless supply of trees, that actually couldn't have been that far looking back at the aviary later, we arrived inside of a small clearing in the trees. A small stream bent into the clearing, stopped at a pile of stones, and then snaked back out.

Tracey paused for a moment, and then paused by the pile of stones, and hummed a strange, three note tune. The rocks stirred, and I backed away instinctively. A loud yawn came from under the pile, and a green, vaguely reptilian face poked its head out from under the pile. It yawned again, and groggily sighed out "Bulba, bulb."

Tracey kneeled down in front of it, and gradually coaxed it out, saying something to it so quietly that I could not hear it. Of course, that could always be attributed to the sheer volume of the background noise. The Pokémon, I didn't recognize what it was, staggered over to me, and looked up expectantly. Tracey trotted over, and slid a Pokéball into my hand gently. I slipped it into my belt, unwilling to withdraw my first Pokémon.

"What is it?"

"He's a Bulbasaur, and a relatively young one. He used to live in Erika's gym, but she eventually decided it would be better to let it live with an actual researcher. After all, they are a critically endangered species of Pokémon."

I nodded, still to dazed by the shock. I actually had a Pokémon. I had a Pokémon. No matter how many times I thought it, I still couldn't fully grasp it. "What does it want me to do?"

"Pet him I suppose. He seems to enjoy being scratched behind his right ear." I knelt down to pet him, and he let out a strange growl-purr blend. I think it was a sign of pleasure. I was petting my Pokémon. I shook my head, unable to conceal a smile. I was going to have to think of something else eventually.

After some time of this, Tracey glanced up at the sky. The sun wasn't quite down yet, but it would be brutal to try and navigate back to the entrance at night. I withdrew the Bulbasaur, which Tracey told me was named Ivy, as I had been trained to do a thousand times. Tracey turned around, and started to head back in the forest. How he kept track of the path, I've never been able to figure out, but surely enough, we arrived at the entrance of the aviary as the sun was going down. Tracey dismissed me back to my house, as he hurried away to the main building of the lab.

I let Ivy out of its Pokéball, and we walked together until we reached my house. A few Rhyhorn were playing in the twilight, clashing against each other with the force to destroy the largest tree in Kanto, but never seeming to harm the other. It was fascinating for me, but Ivy stared at it like it was the most interesting thing he had seen in his life. Looking back on it, it probably was.

Pallet Town was yet another thing that holds no interest for the average human, but Ivy seemed entranced by. Only a few thousand people lived in Pallet, and most of them worked at the lab. There was a large grouping of tiny houses clustered in the south-east part of town by the lab. The aides lived there. It wasn't that they couldn't afford bigger homes than they had, but rather there was no need. Most of the aides were unmarried, and spent most of their time at the lab anyways. The only thing they needed a house for was to sleep in it, and even then the most dedicated slept on the lab grounds.

My house was the exception. My mother was one of Oak's top aides, and thus had more money than most available. She also didn't live alone, yet another reason for her to actually buy something other than a run-down shack posing as a house like so many of the other aides had. Even then, she wasn't home very often. Regardless, I have since realized that even my house was small compared to houses elsewhere. Ivy had even less of an idea, and treated every building with the respect due to a monument or skyscraper. It was starting to occur to me that it had never seen a city before.

Oak paced back and forth, lost in thought. The plans were in place, and it was time to act. After fifteen years, Samuel Oak would retake what was rightfully his. And Lance would die. It had been so long since he had seen those eyes, but he was certain that his suspicions were correct. He turned to his file cabinet, and unlocked it with the code only he knew. There were only two drawers, the only two pieces of unfinished business he had. He opened the smaller one, entitled "Operation Galestorm." There were very few official reports, mostly only personal pictures, maps and journals from that time. It had been what, fifty years since then? Oak shook his head. He was getting old.

He opened an album with the title "Water Avatar," and glanced through them, until he came to the picture he needed. There was a form rising out of the water, a demonic avatar created by… whatever it had been. Most of the image was unclear, obscured by mist, until only one thing remained. A pair of pale blue eyes shone brightly from the creature, with an intensity resembling. He had only seen anything like this one time since. That had been exactly fifteen years ago, the day that Lance had dared to defy him. Oak smiled an evil grin that starkly contrasted with his public image. Both operations could be closed at once. Things were going almost too perfectly.


	4. Trek

I awoke to a methodic beeping beside me as my alarm went off for the morning. I groaned as I slammed my hand down upon it, turning it off. It seemed way too early to actually wake up. I stole a glance at my clock, and wondered for a brief moment why I was getting up at five in the morning. Then I remembered my appointment with Gary I had, and pulled myself upright. Ivy was sitting still on the floor beside me, still asleep even after the alarm. I went off to get a shower, and left him sleeping.

When I got back, Ivy had awoken, and was in the process of busily tearing up everything in the room to find me. When he saw me walking back into the room, he gave a happy cry and started to rub his head against my leg while I looked at the mess he had made and tried not to kill him.

I hadn't remembered that my mom was still at home at five. When Ivy saw her reading the paper at the kitchen table, he gave a low growl, and assumed a defensive stance in front of me. I swore that if Ivy did this to every human around, I was going to have to keep him in his ball whenever we were in public. Thankfully, my mom took it in good spirits and laughed, while I attempted to calm Ivy down to little effect. Some food wholly convinced Ivy that my mom wasn't a savage monster.

While Ivy was busy devouring his breakfast, I got out a bowl of cereal and sat down next to mom. She hadn't gotten home until after I had gone to bed last night, so she was full of questions about the previous day. She listened respectfully to my answers, and laughed or smiled at the appropriate times, the genuine enthusiasm in her bright green eyes always compelling me to continue. She was the youngest at Oak's lab once, and her youthful energy had gotten her very far in her career until she had me. She was only 20 at the time, and the time taken off so early in her career had really hurt her chances of rising through the ranks. Nonetheless, she was still a driving force at the lab, perhaps only beneath Oak himself. This kept her away from home except when she needed to sleep, but it didn't really matter much to me. I was always at the lab too.

About halfway through a story, I was interrupted by a loud banging at the door. I looked down at my watch and winced. I had kept Gary waiting for a very long time. I hurried out the door, Ivy following along beside me while my mom wished me luck on the task.

Thankfully, Gary wasn't kept waiting long. He didn't have the patience to stand there waiting on anyone for more than fifteen minutes, and so he never did. The sun was still very low on the horizon, but I couldn't see any real anger in Gary's eyes. In fact, it looked like I would be the one getting the short end of the straw here.

"What took so long?"

"Sorry, lost track of time."

He grinned sarcastically, "You know I'm the one who's supposed to do that, right? Anyways, Grandpa gave me something to share with you." He took a small, cloth bag, and removed five red and white capsules, handing them to me. "We might as well use the trip to get a head start on catching some Pokémon."

By this point we were at the north edge of Pallet Town, right where the town met a small forest trail that was seldom used. It wasn't that the wild Pokémon were overwhelmingly powerful there, in fact, there were no carnivores, so nothing even bothered to train, but just that there was no real need to travel in most cases. In the early morning light, however, the forest seemed ominous enough.

We got through most of the forest without incident, just sticking to the trail, and absentmindedly discussing anything we could think of, from the Ariel Day celebration tomorrow to tonight's episode of Deadliest Trainer. The Pidgey were starting their early morning chant, and the sun was shining down from above, completely eliminating the earlier sense of malice that all half-lit forests have about them. About two hours into the walk, Gary proposed that we take a little break. We had traveled a very substantial distance, and we would get to Viridian in an hour anyways.

It turned out that he had another motive for wishing to stop. Gary laid out a small pan of food beside the trail, and stepped back a few feet and set still on a log. I was about to ask what he was doing, when several things occurred almost instantly. A small, brown bird flew down from the forest to snatch the food, and a red and white orb sailed through the air to meet it. The bird burst into a cloud of light, and was sucked into the ball, which swayed back and forth in Palkia's judgment.

Legendary Pokémon weren't only myths in Kanto; there was very clear evidence for their existence. One of these signs was the Pokéball itself. Shortly after the fall of the Forest King, the ruler of space, Palkia, had met with the human leaders of the time. It taught them how to create the Pokéball, a device for capturing Pokémon. If a trainer proved themselves worthy, Palkia would allow them to store Pokémon in the ball and bring the Pokémon with him. However, there were certain conditions. If Palkia didn't condone the capture, it would be impossible for the wormhole that the Pokéball required to open, and the capture would fail. However, a very good fight would go very far in appeasing Palkia, and convincing it to allow the capture. Of course, the idea that a single being could monitor every capture in the world was somewhat unrealistic, so most people had come to dismiss the story as legend. Besides, most of the so-called "elder legends" were probably only myths.

Myth or not, most people madly petitioned Palkia as the ball swung back and forth on the ground, the red button in its center flashing red. Gary held his breath, awaiting the final result when the ball stopped shaking and settled down. Gary had caught his second Pokémon.

He pocketed the Pokéball, and held out a small pod of food to me, clearly asking if I wanted to do the same. I took the food, and said I would, but I wanted to wait for a moment to let the flock of Pidgey calm down. I turned to Gary, realizing that I still hadn't asked about the elephant in the room. "So, what was your first Pokémon?"

He face palmed, unable to believe that he had actually forgotten to bring that up. "It was a Charmander named Ember. It only arrived very recently from Cinnabar Island. It's apparently pretty rare, but its still pretty vulnerable until its evolved. Here, let me show you."

A glow lit up the area for a moment as the light took the shape of a small bipedal reptile, with a tail that was ignited in flames. It jumped up into its masters lap, but the fire on its tail didn't seem to light up Gary's shorts. "He's an aggressive little guy, and doesn't really restrain himself well. I'm still wondering why Grandpa thought I could teach this guy patience."

We both laughed, and I sent out Ivy. He looked around for a moment, smiling happily at the sight of the forest, but immediately cowered close to me when he saw Ember. I grimaced, realizing that this was going to seriously hurt the chances of Gary and I working together at the lab. I caressed Ivy's bulb, whispering to it softly, while Gary held back Ember from doing anything stupid. I withdrew Ivy as Ember started to wriggle free, and told Gary I was ready to try my luck catching a Pokémon.

After crossing back to the log, I readied a Pokéball, ready for my first capture. However, five minutes of waiting produced absolutely nothing, and just as I was about to pack up the food, a branch rustled behind me. I whirled around to find myself face-to-face with a small rodent Pokémon, who immediately shied away upon seeing me. I hesitated for a second, noticing that something was wrong. It looked way too scared to be a normal Rattata. It stepped forwards a few paces, trying to get to the food but unsure as to what to make of Gary and I. That was when I noticed the slash marks on its back, evidence of a fight with some other wild Pokémon. I pitied it, and quietly moved towards the food, the Rattata watching every step. I picked up the leaf it was placed on, and slowly swung it around towards the Pokémon. I backed away, and it ran up and started to tear through the bait.

Much to Gary's dismay, I didn't capture it, and was instead content to watch as it ate, noticing little things about it. It was almost certainly female, as few males were that small. It also appeared to be very young, and pretty weak, although the weakness could have come from the apparent attack. After about two minutes, it was done eating, and looked up almost expectantly.

"There isn't any more if that's what you're wondering. But, you're free to come with us, and we'll get more later." She cocked her head to the side, and then sat down, staring up at my belt.

Gary rolled his eyes as I stared dumbfounded. "She wants you to capture her, genius. Although if you can't figure that out, I'm going to seriously doubt how well you could care for her."

I rolled my eyes as well, trying as hard as possible to make it seem like I had known that all along. "Of course I knew that. It's just, I've never heard of a Pokémon doing this before." The Rattata hadn't moved through the entire sequence, so I assumed Gary was correct, and dropped a Pokéball onto her. There was a much shorter struggle than Gary's Pidgey, and after a few vibrations from the Pokéball that were probably caused primarily by shock, rather than the desire to escape, the ball stopped moving, and I had captured Pokémon number two.

Gary and I moved on, noting that we were already running late as things were, and that we didn't need to waste any more time. I decided to name my new Rattata Dawn, and Gary named his Pidgey Dusk to contrast with my Pokémon. I assumed that this was going to be a running joke.

After about another hour of walking, we arrived at the edge of Viridian City. There were really three sides to Viridian, each equally important. The first was the oldest, the huge and fortified East wing of town that was crowded with towers, walls, and miniature castles. This was the first line of defense in case anyone dared to attack the Pokémon League, and it did a pretty good job of intimidating any would-be attackers. The second side had arisen shortly after Oak's lab was created on the coast. It was a supply center for travelers to and from the lab, with a Pokémart and Pokécenter to allow travelers to refresh and obtain more supplies as they head out towards Pewter. This part of town had gotten a very major boost during the construction of the Vermillion Tunnel in an old Diglett path, a massive construction project that had led to an influx of every major corporation in Kanto into Viridian City, which was expected to be a transport hub. Hotels and shelters were built in this wing for construction workers and travelers following the completion of the tunnel. The third wing of town was created to maintain the second. Obviously someone had to live in the city to staff the Pokémart, Center, and shelters. The few residents of the town lived crammed up in the north terraces, right on the edge of the forest.

The Pokemart was a large blue building, with a Pokéball symbol etched onto the roof. Gary and I hurried through the glass door, causing both of the people in the shop to look up as we entered. One of them was a clerk, dressed in his official work uniform and reading a magazine to

Gary and I stared at the town in silence for a moment, before he ran off into the commercial wing, reminding me of our goal for the trip. We hurried by brightly colored buildings and towers designed to accommodate the steady string of travelers that passed by the town on official business. We ran for about half of a mile before reaching the Pokémart.

pass the time. He didn't appear to be very old, but it couldn't have really taken much to work the cash register. The second man was only slightly older, and was dressed in a brown jacket and thick jeans. He had spiky brown hair, and a pair of sunglasses pulled up over his eyes as he read a fossil guide. The clerk eyed us for a moment, noticing that we were from out of town, but not used to seeing travelers as young as we were.

"Welcome to the Viridian City Pokémart. I trust that you are the kids that Professor Oak was talking about."

Gary walked over, staring down the clerk with an aura of confidence. "Yes, we are. We were told that you had a package waiting for us."

The clerk nodded, and pulled a brown box out from under his desk, before muttering something in reply to Gary's thanks, and going back to reading his magazine. I noticed that the other man was getting to his feet as we walked out of the door. I told Gary about this once we were outside, and together we turned as the door opened behind us, and the man in the brown jacket stepped out.

His voice was gruff, "Can I get you to deliver a message to Oak for me?"

We were taken off guard for a moment, but Gary replied in the affirmative. "Good. Tell Oak," he glanced around furtively, making sure that there were no onlookers, "Tell him that Pewter is ready."

With that, he hurried off towards the north, presumably towards Pewter City. Gary and I exchanged nervous glances, and stood in silence until the man was out of sight. "I wonder what that's supposed to mean."

Gary stirred from his own thoughts, before walking off towards the Pokémon Center. "It could be anything. It's probably a project with the museum, though. Grandpa doesn't really have much more to do with Pewter City."

"You know that the look he had was way too paranoid to be some minor notice from the museum."

Gary shrugged, "It could be a government project. Grandpa did a lot for The League before he settled down in Pallet. In fact, I'm almost certain it's a government project. Anyways, it's probably too late to get back to Pallet today. We'll have to check in at the Pokécenter."

I nodded, noticing the sun's position in the sky. We were never going to get back before sundown, and no one ever wanted to be on the road at night. We didn't talk again until we were inside of the huge, red inn. Gary mentioned that they were on business from Oak, and showed the receptionist the package, and pretty soon we were assigned our room for the night. It was customary that those on business from a town leader were given a free room at the town's Pokémon Center when they were forced to spend a night away from home.

Before we could go to bed though, Gary had to call Oak with the P.C. to make sure that he knew where we were. The computer screen registered a "connecting" icon before an image of Oak's office eventually came into view, with Oak sitting at his desk. He glanced up at his computer, and seemed to grasp the situation instantly. "I take it that you're spending the night in Viridian, correct."

"Yes, Grandpa. We also have a message for you."

Oak looked confused, "A message? From whom?"

"We don't know. The message was simply 'Pewter is ready.' He said nothing else."

Oak nodded, something clearly displeasing him. "All right then, I'll tell Kyle's mother. Thank you for the message."

The screen returned to normal as Oak disconnected. He had taken the information about our location well enough, but his reaction to the second question was very troubling. I tried not to think about it too much as I headed off for bed, though. It wasn't really my business. I stayed up for a while after that, reading a book on Kanto history that was in the room. As I glanced up to go to shut off the light I froze. I blinked, trying to see if I had been imagining things, and noticed that there what I had seen was gone. I tried to dismiss it as an illusion. After all, I was on the second floor, with no trees around. There was no possible way I could have seen a face staring into the window.

Tracey stared down Oak from across his desk, shocked by what he was hearing. "Pewter is ready! How did they even find out about this!"

Oak shook his head, clearly not knowing either. "I don't know. But one thing is certain here: the plans have been leaked to one leader, and quite possibly to more. I haven't talked to Blaine or Pluto yet, but this is big news."

Tracey stared out into the twilight scene in the office window. "Will you cancel the plans, then?"

Oak scoffed, "Cancel! After all of the work we've put into this there will be no cancellation. While this has made things harder, the facts remain the same. If we wait any longer, we will never win."

Tracey's gaze bore into Oak's, "Why do we even need to win? It's not as if Lance is really that bad."

Oak glared back, a look of fury in his gaze, but absolutely no expression in his voice. "Do you want to know why we should fight Lance?"

A girl clad entirely in black slid down the red wall. She had been careless, and paid because of it. _Such a rookie mistake_, she thought to herself with disgust. This was not going to go very well with her father, she was certain of that. But she was now certain of one other thing as well. He had the scar. He was really the one.

-End Chapter-

Okay, thanks for Shiny Monkey for reviewing, and as some general answer to questions:

This is the third fan fic I have done, but it is just a rewrite of the first and second, which tanked. In addition, character development has always been a weakness of mine, to the point where I am spending three months between drafts just to create a cast of characters for Draft Four (I rewrite this a lot). Thanks for the review, and any commentary is really, really appreciated. Also, I will review your fic if you review mine (assuming I follow the genre), just sayin'…


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